Ban on reckless firearm discharge in unincorporated areas passes House

BATON ROUGE -- Legislation that would ban reckless discharging of a firearm within 1,000 feet of residential property sailed through the House Thursday but was limited to just unincorporated areas. Rep. Mickey Guillory, D-Eunice, won 89-0 approval of his House Bill 204 after adding an amendment that would exempt the enforcement of the proposed law in cities that are incorporated such as New Orleans, Kenner or Baton Rouge.

The House Thursday passed a bill by Rep. Mickey Guillory, D-Eunice, that would ban reckless discharging of a firearm within 1,000 feet of residential property in unincorporated areas.

Guillory said local governments usually have their own local laws dealing with discharging firearms. He said he did not want to interfere with those existing laws. The bill would apply to areas that are not incorporated, such as Metairie.

Guillory also amended his bill to remove jail sentences from the penalties but kept in monetary fines. The bill started out providing for a maximum fine of $500 and up to six months in jail for a first conviction and up to a year in jail and a maximum $1,000 fine for subsequent violations.

As Guillory's bill heads to the Senate, it carries a fine up to $250 for a first conviction and a maximum $500 fine for subsequent offenses. Rep. Jeff Thompson, R-Bossier City, also added an amendment that would allow a person to fire a weapon to protect "persons or property" without being charged with a violation of the proposed law.

The House also passed legislation that would increase the penalties for recklessly firing a weapon along a parade route. House Bill 220 by Rep. Wesley Bishop, D-New Orleans, would increase the maximum penalty a violator could get from 10 years to 15 years. Bishop did not change the mandatory three-year minimum a judge must now give. Bishop's bill now heads to the Senate.

The House also voted 79-0 for Bishop's House Bill 222 that would allow a prosecutor to use a conviction for a local misdemeanor gun violation to charge a violator as a second offender in state court to get a higher felony sentence. That bill also heads to the Senate.